Proton, privacy by default Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The first interview was a recruiter call, which felt like a one-sided interrogation with scripted questions and no time for my own questions. Then, the hiring manager interview was more conversational, but it seemed like decisions were based on gut feelings and HiPPOs rather than data, with a lack of user insights or metrics. They also seemed to favor building everything from scratch, which felt odd given their stated goals. The overall vibe was a corporate hierarchy in a startup costume. After that, I got an automated rejection email and received no response when I followed up for feedback. This whole process felt like a waste of time, and I won't be applying again.

This was not a good experience. It took them a month to reply after I applied. First, there was a recruiter screening call. Then I had to do a logic test and a take-home assignment which was quite time-consuming. After I submitted it, I heard nothing for 2-3 weeks. I had to follow up multiple times, and each response took about a week. Then they wanted me to come in person, but first I had to complete another take-home assignment. Since I applied for a Product Manager role, and the assignments were heavily UX-focused (like creating prototypes), I got a bit frustrated. It took about two months just to get the chance to speak with someone from the product team, at which point I withdrew my application. Overall, it was a poor candidate experience.

Had a few interview rounds: first a recruiter, then the unit director, followed by a home assignment. Then there was a panel interview where they reviewed my task and asked more skill-related questions. Proton would go silent for a week or more after an interview and then resurface. The home assignment didn't really test what they were looking for. It's worth noting they also want UX designer skills in a PM. Overall, it felt like a lot of guessing and managing the interviewers because they weren't sure what they wanted to assess, and then asking questions based on that uncertainty.